Infidelity — Tag Meaning
A content tag for cheating depicted within the story — emotional or physical, discovered or concealed. It is one of romance fandom's most filtered-for and filtered-against tags: some readers want the messy moral weight, many want guarantees of its absence, and honest tagging serves both.
What to Expect From "Infidelity" Fics
Betrayal inside a committed relationship and its fallout. The narrative may condemn, complicate, or sympathize; it will not be tidy.
How to find Infidelity fics on AO3
On AO3, click any tag to see every work that uses it, then refine with the "Filters" sidebar — combine it with your fandom or ship, set a rating, or exclude tags you don't want. See our AO3 filtering guide for the full walkthrough.
Browse "Infidelity" works on AO3Popular Fics Tagged "Infidelity"
Real examples from AO3's most-kudosed works:
like a bastard on the burning sea
by vashtaneradas
A Life So Changed
by Lopithecus
Call Me Daddy
by FrankieQuinn13
Dancing, With Our Hands Tied
by Michelleleahhh
Gustave Daae’s Daughter
by Mertens
The Buried Life
by orphan_account
Related Tags
Betrayal
Tags the knife in the back: a trusted character breaks faith, and the story turns on the breach. Whether it's a canon betrayal re-examined or an invented one, the tag promises the rupture is central — along with the anger, grief, and possible repair that follow.
Tag guide →
Angst
One of the foundational tags of fanfiction, covering stories centered on emotional pain — grief, longing, guilt, heartbreak, despair. Unlike a content warning, Angst describes mood: the fic dwells in difficult feelings and wants you to feel them too. It says nothing on its own about whether things improve.
Tag guide →
Break Up
Tags a breakup occurring in the fic, with no promise of repair attached. Some break-up fics are the first chapter of a reunion; others are autopsies — examinations of how a relationship ended, written for catharsis rather than comfort. The surrounding tags reveal which you're holding.
Tag guide →
Love Triangles
The canonical tag for three-way romantic competition: one character torn between two, or two rivals pursuing the same heart. Fanfic both plays triangles straight and subverts them — a striking share of tagged love triangles resolve by the three becoming a throuple instead.
Tag guide →
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